Tuesday, June 10, 2014. Chaos and violence continue, Mosul is seized by
rebels, other areas also get seized today, Nouri's failures garner some
press attention, his War Crimes continue, and much more.

So much going on in Iraq. Before we start with that, let's first note
something on the ongoing VA scandal. Senator Patty Murray is the Chair
of the Senate Budget Committee and
serves on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Her office issued the
following:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Murray Press Office

Monday, June 09, 2014 (202) 224-2834

VETERANS: Murray Statement on VA’s Nationwide Access Audit

“Disturbing” data from new VA report shows gaps in quality, access to care

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), asenior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, released
the following statement after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
released the results from its
Nationwide Access Audit of veterans health facilities.

“Today’s
report paints a serious and disturbing picture of the VA’s system-wide
failure to provide timely access to care for our nation’s heroes. I am
especially concerned
by the number of facilities that serve Washington state veterans that
have been flagged for further review and investigation. This information
confirms what I have been hearing from so many veterans who are
struggling with extended wait times in the Pacific
Northwest.

“These
are not new problems, but I hope today’s data will spur continued
bipartisan momentum as we work to pass the Sanders-McCain compromise.
Finalizing this legislation
is a critical step toward addressing some of the immediate
accountability and access concerns plaguing the VA. In addition, as
further investigations and reviews are completed, we need to keep
working to ensure the VA continues to take substantive action to
address any management, resource, and personnel shortcomings that have
contributed to today’s findings.”

The
VA Access Audit and Fact Sheet on the Veterans Integrated Service
Network (VISN) 20, which includes Washington state facilities, can be
found
here.

Speaking at a news
conference in Baghdad, Osama al-Nujaifi appeared to point the finger at
the central government, accusing security forces of abandoning Mosul
when the fighting began.

Al-Nujaifi said security
forces "abandoned their weapons, their tanks and their bases and left
them to terrorist groups, even Mosul airport." He also said gunmen had
taken over ammunition storage facilities.

The speaker, whose
brother Atheel al-Nujaifi is the governor of Nineveh province, said the
central government had been warned over the past few weeks that militant
groups were gathering but had taken no preventive action.

Xinhua adds:Atheel al-Nujaifi, the provincial governor told al-Arabiyah satellite
channel that "the gunmen took control of the left and right sides of
Mosul except for small pockets." The left and right sides of the city
refer to east and west banks of the Tigris River which bisects the city
of Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Nujaifi said that the top army officers who came recently from
Baghdad to supervise the battles suddenly withdrew with their troops
from the left side which was under control of the security forces.

Mitchell Prothero and Hannah Allam (McClatchy Newspapers) quote
Mosul teacher Zaid Mohammed stating, "I asked one soldier I know why he
was leaving. He told me, 'We came here for salaries, not to die'." Ziad al-Sinjary (Reuters) notes
corpses of security forces were "littering the streets" and quoted an
unnamed military officer stating, "We can't beat them. We can't. They
are well trained in street fighting and we're not. We need a whole army
to drive them out of Mosul. They're like ghosts: they appear, strike
and disappear in seconds."

Alsumaria reports Nouri has ordered military commanders to arrest all security forces who abandoned their posts. NINA adds
that the Ministry of Defense has announced "al-Taji Camp, north of
Baghdad," is where the arrested security forces will be held. After the
2003 invasion, the US military used that camp and called it Camp Cooke.
Military.com notes it is located 30 kilometers from Baghdad. While security forces ran, All Iraq News notes, "More than 70 female students are stuck inside the University of Mosul after the control of the ISIL elements on the city."

It should be noted that Al Mada's actually spoken with
an officer with the federal police, an officer who deserted Mosul, and
he tells the news outlet that leadership ordered the federal police to
drop their weapons and evacuate. Al Mada also reports that the first security forces to desert in Mosul were the Iraqi army forces.

In addition to ordering security forces arrested, All Iraq News reports Nouri has also promised, "The security forces will re-control Mosul city within 24 hours."

Wait. There's more. RT notes, "Eyewitness accounts describe the scenes of chaos on the streets
of Iraq’s second-largest city as people fled for their lives. A
number of reports say that militants are freeing detainees from
police stations, while AL RAI Chief International Correspondent
Elijah J Magnier tweeted that the ISIS had freed over 2000
inmates from a 'counter terrorism prison'." Dentist Mahmoud al-Taie tells Ali A. Nabhan and Matt Bradley (Wall St. Journal),
"The whole of Mosul collapsed today. We've fled our homes and
neighborhoods, and we're looking for God's mercy. We are waiting to
die." AFP's WG Dunlop Tweets the following:

All Iraq News reports
that Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi declared at a press
conference today, "The ISIL [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]
elements controlled the IA [Iraqi Army] helicopters and security forces
withdrew from Shurqat Airport in Mosul."

Well thank goodness the White House hasn't been supplying Nouri with weapons, helicopters and F-16s . . .

Oh, wait.

They have been supplying Nouri with those things. In fact, Nouri got his first F-16 last week.

Doesn't look smart, does it?

The White House supplying a government with weapons the government can't even secure?

Maybe Barack can next press the Congress to okay plutonium being shipped to Nouri?

Mitchell Prothero (McClatchy Newspapers) notes:Iraqi provincial officials confirmed reports from ISIS media outlets
that at least one major Iraqi military base had fallen and with it, huge
amounts of American-supplied military equipment, including possible
attack helicopters. ISIS-linked Internet accounts were filled with
credible appearing photos of large amounts of captured and destroyed
U.S.-built armored vehicles.

TheNew York Times words it this way, "The insurgent fighters who routed the Iraqi army out of Mosul
on Tuesday did not just capture much of Iraq’s second-largest city.
They also gained a windfall of arms, munitions and equipment abandoned
by the soldiers as they fled -- arms that were supplied by the United
States and intended to give the troops an edge over the insurgents."

If true, the world has little to say except to offer a sarcastic, "Thank you, Barack."

The US State Dept issued the following statement today:

June 10, 2014

Press StatementJen PsakiDepartment Spokesperson
Washington, DCThe United States is deeply concerned about the
events that have transpired in Mosul over the last 48 hours where
elements of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISIL) have taken over significant
parts of the city. The situation remains extremely serious. Senior U.S.
officials in both Washington and Baghdad are tracking events closely in
coordination with the Government of Iraq, as well as Iraqi leaders from
across the political spectrum including the Kurdistan Regional
Government (KRG), and support a strong, coordinated response to push
back against this aggression. We also commend efforts by the KRG to
respond to the ongoing humanitarian crisis. The United States will
provide all appropriate assistance to the Government of Iraq under the
Strategic Framework Agreement to help ensure that these efforts succeed.ISIL continues to gain strength from the situation in Syria, from
which it transfers recruits, sophisticated munitions, and resources to
the fight in Iraq. It should be clear that ISIL is not only a threat to
the stability of Iraq, but a threat to the entire region. This growing
threat exemplifies the need for Iraqis from all communities to work
together to confront this common enemy and isolate these militant groups
from the broader population.

The United States stands with the Iraqi people and the people of
Ninewa and Anbar now confronting this urgent threat. We will continue to
work closely with Iraqi political and security leaders on a holistic
approach to diminish ISIL’s capacity and ability to operate within
Iraq’s borders. Our assistance enables Iraq to combat ISIL on the front
lines, where hundreds of Iraqi security force personnel have been killed
and injured in that fight this year.

The failures of Nouri are the failures of Barack. And shortly after Psaki released the above statement, she moderated today's State Dept press briefing. Excerpt of Associated Press' Lara Jakes exchange with Jen Psaki:

LARA JAKES: Okay. I’d like to start with the
statement you just put out on Iraq on the attacks in Mosul, and I’ll
start with a question that I asked yesterday. And that was: Do you
believe that ISIL is – obviously we’re seeing it gain ground in Iraq. Do
you believe that this is something that’s going to be sustained for a
long time? Does this indicate more than just isolated instances of this
extremist group’s strength?MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm. Well, we have seen ISIL continue to gain
strength over time from the situation in Syria. And as you all know,
that has been an issue that we have been concerned about for months now
and we’ve talked about, I think, in this briefing room. And we’ve seen
from the situation in Syria and the overflow of the impact of that that
there have been a transfer – an impact on the transfer and its recruits
of sophisticated munitions and resources to the fight in Iraq. And that
has, of course, been of great concern to us.What should be clear and especially given this and the impact of
Syria on – of the events in Syria on what’s happening in Iraq, that the
threat that ISIL is presenting is not just a threat to Iraq or the
stability of Iraq, but it is a threat to the region. And this growing
menace exemplifies the importance of Iraqis from all communities working
together to confront this common enemy and to isolate those militant
groups from the broader population.So as you know, over the past couple of days, and certainly even
before that, the Iraqi security forces have been able to enter a
stalemate with ISIL on the situation in Anbar. But the attacks over the
last couple of days have shown that there is an ongoing threat, one we
remain concerned about. Our DAS McGurk has been on the ground since this
weekend. He is continuing to consult with a range of officials on the
ground, and that we expect will continue.LARA JAKES: The reports out of Mosul today indicate that the
Iraqi security forces, most of which I believe are Shia, have fled the
city and many parts of Nineveh province. So I’m wondering if (a) you can
confirm that and (b) if you – what that says about the ability of the
Shia-led government to operate and to protect people in the Sunni areas.Also – sorry – there are also --MS. PSAKI: Go ahead.LARE JAKES: How long do you think this can be sustained? We’ve
seen ISIL in control of Fallujah for months now. Is this something that
can really be sustained in one of Iraq’s largest cities, i.e. Mosul?MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm. Well, first let me say we’ve seen – on your
first question – these reports. I mentioned DAS McGurk is on the
ground. We’re consulting with the Government of Iraq on what occurred on
the ground to gain more information. We do understand that the Nineveh
operations command is still operating and coordinating a response to
this aggression.There’s no question, Lara, that the Iraqi security forces face a
severe challenge by the threat posed by ISIL, but we have seen in recent
days that they are actively engaged in this ongoing effort. We continue
to encourage them to stay at it. And we would note that also thousands
of Iraqi security forces have lost their lives fighting this effort as
well.In terms of how long it’s sustainable, obviously we are concerned. We
remain concerned about the situation on the ground. We have been
encouraging all sides, as was indicated in the statement that we put out
just before I came out here. We’re tracking the events closely. We, as I
talked about a little bit earlier, remain concerned about the strength
that ISIL is continuing to gain on the ground. And we believe that this
growing threat just exemplifies the need for all Iraqis to stand
together and face this threat.LARA JAKES: But you said that the Iraqi security forces are actively
engaged, and yet they’re fleeing one of Iraq’s major cities.MS. PSAKI: Well again --LARA JAKES: And so – but let me just ask.MS. PSAKI: Okay, go ahead.LARA JAKES: That seems to raise a question for all sorts of
people about the extent that Shia forces have bought into protecting
Sunni-dominated areas. And I think it speaks to one of the larger points
that this building has tried to make about needing a unified government
in Iraq and making sure that the new government after the April
elections are really stepping up to show Iraqis that this is a
government for all Iraqis and not just for certain sects. And so I’m
wondering: Does this have any kind of larger implication – signals about
unity of the Iraqi Government? And can the current leadership really be
relied upon to deliver unity after eight years of not so much?MS. PSAKI: Well, let me be clear first. We don’t know all the
circumstances of the events on the ground. We’re seeking more
information on that. There’s no question that coordination and a unified
front is a prominent part of the message we are sending both publicly
and in our conversations with officials on the ground. It was in our
statement; it is certainly a message that DAS McGurk is conveying on the
ground as well.We’ve seen even, as I think just this morning I believe or in the
last 24 hours, that the Speaker of Iraq’s parliament, Nujaifi, came out
and called on the international community to support Iraq in its efforts
to counter ISIL’s offensive. I know you’re asking me about the
military, but the point I’m trying to make here is that there’s no
question that unity and all sides and officials in Iraq working together
is the only way that they can be successful here.And on your second question, there is also no question that all Iraqi
leaders need to do more to address unresolved issues to better meet the
needs of the Iraqi people. We continue to work with a broad spectrum of
Iraqi leaders, and we continue to urge them to secure support from all
Iraqi communities and across the board to present a common political and
unified vision as they address these challenges.LARA JAKES: Do you believe that Prime Minister al-Maliki should
remain as prime minister as – I mean, it’s a relevant time to be asking
since the government is in their kind of building process right now.

MS. PSAKI: Well, we never – we don’t take positions on issues
around future leadership or current leadership. I will say that he’s
obviously been elected previously. They’re still finalizing the results.
When I said that there’s more that officials can do on the ground, that
certainly includes Prime Minister Maliki.

That's what happens when you thwart an election and insist the your
special friend is the 'winner.' (In 2010, Nouri 'won' a second term not
via the election or even via post-election horse trading. He 'won' via
the US-brokered Erbil Agreement -- a contract which circumvented the
Iraqi Constitution.) Dan Roberts (Guardian) reports on the White House's response to today's events:But in comments that may strain relations with Baghdad, the White
House made clear it believed Maliki's Shia-led government was partly to
blame for his forces' lack of support in other areas of the country.White
House spokesman Josh Earnest said the US was encouraging “all Iraqi
leaders including Prime Minister Maliki to do more to address unresolved
issues to better meet the needs of all the Iraqi people”.“We are
going to continue our important relationship in terms of providing some
security assistance to the government of Iraq but ultimately there is a
responsibility on behalf of the Iraqi leaders to step up to the plate
here, that includes prime minister Maliki,” he told reporters in
Washington.

Colin Freeman (Telegraph of London) observes, "Many Sunnis accuse the government of treating them as second-class citizens,
and while not all of them support al-Qaeda's ideology, the growing sense of
discontent has driven some to see al-Qaeda as an ally again. The Iraqi
government's slow response to the demands of a new
Sunni-led civil rights movement, based on the Arab Spring
protests
in neighbouring countries, has also inflamed tensions." Interesting
word choice and one that the Washington Institute's Aaron Y. Zelin
objects to:

Martin Chulov (Guardian) observes, "Maliki had positioned himself as the only Iraqi politician who could
stand up to Isis. But his forces have been unable to win back Fallujah,
or Ramadi and seem increasingly impotent as the insurgency gathers
steam."

Nouri is a failure. Instead of easing tensions, he spent the last four
years increasing tensions and hardening divisions in Iraq. By April
2013, when he was openly slaughtering civilians, the US government
should have been demanding he heed the call of the protesters.

All Iraq News notes Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi met today with US Ambassador to Iraq Stephen Beecroft to discuss "the latest security updates." Alsumaria reports that the Assistant US Secretary of State will arrive in Baghdad shortly.

If you're thinking this means the White House is taking things
seriously, you're wrong. No one's being sent to Iraq. They're
referring to Brett McGurk and he's already in Iraq, just not in Baghdad.

His name came up at Monday's State Dept press briefing moderated by spokesperson Marie Harf:QUESTION: I have a question about the oil dispute between
Baghdad and Erbil. A few days ago Deputy Assistant Secretary Brett
McGurk was in the region to talk to the officials in --MS. HARF: Still there.QUESTION: -- okay. Do you have any details about his meetings with the officials in Erbil?MS. HARF: I have a little details on his travel, and then if
you have follow-ups on specific issues. He arrived in Iraq on Saturday
for a series of meetings with Iraqi leaders over the coming days. Over
the weekend and into today he held meetings with senior leaders in the
Iraqi Kurdistan region to discuss the political and security situation
and on the energy front stressed the importance of Erbil and Baghdad
returning to discussions to finalize an accord on energy exports and
revenue sharing. He will remain in the Iraqi Kurdistan region for
additional meetings before heading to Baghdad tomorrow on Tuesday.In Baghdad he will meet with a variety of Iraqi leaders from across
the political spectrum to discuss the evolving threat of ISIL, including
the situation in Anbar province and the recent attacks in Mosul. He
will also stress with leaders in Baghdad the importance of renewing
discussions on an energy accord. And I’m sure we’ll have more to say
about his meetings after they happen.QUESTION: Right. The KRG – Kurdistan Regional Government’s
head of Office of Foreign Relations, he said in an interview yesterday
that – I’m quoting – “Kurdistan is no longer be the victim of U.S.
interests in the region,” and they will continue selling oil even though
the U.S. is – U.S. Government is against it. Do you have any comment?

MS. HARF: Well, I haven’t seen those comments specifically.
But look, our position on this has been clear that – and longstanding, I
would also note – that the export or sale of oil, absent the
appropriate approval of the federal Iraqi government exposes those
involved to potentially serious legal risks. We’re not taking sides on
the issue. And look, our primary objective throughout all of this is to
help Iraq export as much oil as possible – from all parts of the
country, to be clear. But we do think that we want, as I just said, the
parties to come back to the table and to have the discussions about how
this looks like going forward.

Dan Lamothe (Washington Post) speaks with an unnamed "former senior U.S. military commander in Iraq" who provides five areas of concern:3) The insurgents are likely heading south toward Baghdad. Mosul,
in Iraq’s northwestern corner, is some 220 miles from Baghdad. It’s
likely ISIS fighters will consolidate their gains there and head south
toward Iraq’s capital city, said the former U.S. commander. Indeed, several reports
Tuesday suggested insurgents had surrounded Tikrit, which is more than
halfway to Baghdad from Mosul. The question becomes when and where Iraqi
forces are able to stand their ground against the insurgent advance.

Ban Ki-moon is the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Today, his office issued the following statement: The Secretary-General is gravely concerned by the serious
deterioration of the security situation in Mosul, where thousands of
civilians have been displaced in the recent violence. He strongly
condemns the terrorist attacks in Anbar, Baghdad, Diyala, Ninewa, and
Salah al-Din provinces that have killed and wounded scores of civilians
over the past several days. The Secretary-General extends his profound
condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government of
Iraq. The Secretary-General urges all political leaders to
show national unity against the threats facing Iraq, which can only be
addressed on the basis of the Constitution and within the democratic
political process. He encourages the Government of Iraq and the Kurdish
Regional Government to cooperate in restoring security to Ninewa
Province and in delivering urgently needed humanitarian aid. The United
Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) stands ready to support
these efforts. The Secretary-General remains deeply concerned
about the situation in Anbar. He welcomes the convening of an Anbar
reconciliation conference and strongly encourages all local tribal,
political and religious leaders to participate constructively in order
to put an end to the fighting. The Secretary-General recalls
that all Member States have an obligation to implement and enforce the
targeted financial sanctions, arms embargo and travel ban imposed on the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) under the sanctions regime
pursuant to Security Council resolutions 1267 and 1989.

The
United Nations, including UNAMI, will continue to support the Government
and people of Iraq in building a peaceful, democratic and prosperous
country.

Anbar. Largely forgotten today is what is going on in Falluja. Nouri
has, since the start of the year, been bombing the residential
neighborhoods of Falluja wounding and killing many civilians. This is
legally defined as a War Crime. It was seen as such when Nazi Germany
did it. This is not a new concept that just emerged in the last year.

Through Monday, Iraq Body Count counts 534 violent deaths so far this month. 534 violent deaths in the first nine days of the month.

Nouri is a failure. He didn't deserve a first term as prime minister
but Bully Boy Bush insisted on him. He didn't deserve a second term but
Barack Obama overturned the election results and circumvented the Iraqi
Constitution to give Nouri a second term (via The Erbil Agreement).
Failure Nouri now wants a third term? One has to wonder how much longer
Barack can get away with backing Nouri? He's an utter failure and he's
harmed the country of Iraq and he's terrorized the people. A few
months ago, Barack might have been able to get away with standing next
to Nouri. But now Barack's got his own scandals to deal with.

At Foreign Policy, Elias Groll notes:Whether the continued presence of U.S. troops in Iraq would have
prevented the resurgence of violence is far from certain, but one thing
isn't up for debate: Under the rule of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki, the country has seen a remarkable lack of progress on a
variety of economic and security indicators. In many, it's actually
taken several steps back. The case against Maliki is laid out in a
report by Anthony Cordesman, of the Center for Strategic and
International Studies. Cordesman, who has been writing about Iraq since
U.S. forces swept into the country in 2003, points out that by several
key metrics, the Iraq of today looks worse than it did under Saddam
Hussein.

You can use the link for a series of eight charts.

For any late to the party, I'll note our position was US forces needed
to leave Iraq immediately. We argued before Barack was sworn in and
throughout his first year that he should immediately pull the troops out
and point to the election as an indication of what Americans wanted.
Then it wouldn't be Barack's war, it would be Bully Boy Bush's war.

But the thing about pampered and overly praised princes, they can't help
thinking they're smarter than everyone else and that they can fix
anything. So Barack played around with Iraq and made the illegal war
his own. He made things a lot worse in Iraq when Nouri couldn't put
together a government in 2010. Barack ordered US officials to broker a
contract (The Erbil Agreement) with the heads of the other political
blocs giving Nouri a second term.

You can't just say, "Sign this!" The heads of the political blocs only
signed it because the contract promised them certain things. Barack
gave his word that the US would back this contract. Nouri used it to
get a second term but refused to implement it. He said it would be a
few months. It was the entire four year term and he never implemented
it. By the summer of 2012, the Kurds, Iraqiya and cleric and movement
leader Moqtada al-Sadr were publicly calling for Nouri to honor The
Erbil Agreement. And the White House? They didn't say word. Barack's
promise that The Erbil Agreement had the full backing of the US
government? (Made to Ayad Allawi to get him to stop his boycott of the
Parliament in November 2010.) It vanished. And time and again, the
White House looked the other way as Nouri bullied and then assaulted and
then murdered. Nouri is Little Saddam.

It is true that Bully Boy Bush installed him as prime minister in 2006.
It's also true that the Iraqi people turned out at the polls in 2010 to
vote for a new Iraq, a better Iraq, a united Iraq. That's why Iraqiya
won the 2010 elections. It represented a national Iraq. Barack refused
to support a message of unity and refused to back democracy.

Today's events can be traced back to the refusal of Barack to stand up for democracy.

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About Me

I'm Michael, Mike to my friends. College student working his way through. I'm also Irish-American and The New York Times can kiss my Irish ass. And check out Trina's Kitchen on my links, that's my mother's site.